Report: Giants chose Pat Shurmur over Jim Schwartz due to control demands

The New York Giants reportedly chose Pat Shurmur over Jim Schwartz due to Schwartz’s demand for personnel control.

If you want to be the head coach of the New York Giants, that will be the extent of your job. Some great football minds have walked out the door and shied away from East Rutherford because they wanted full control.

That is ultimately what led the Giants to choose Pat Shurmur over Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz for their head coaching position after the 2017 season.

Schwartz was the defensive mastermind behind the Eagles’ Super Bowl run that led to Philly’s first NFL championship since 1960. He was in the mix for the Giants’ head coaching job, but there was that one catch that kept him from getting it.

He wanted more of a say in the choosing of personnel, and when it comes to the Giants, coaches don’t have much equity in the process. They never have.

That’s what ultimately led to Bill Parcells’ departure in 1991 when he clashed with then-general manager George Young. Parcells had other reasons for leaving, but ultimately it was over control, an issue he had in several of his next few destinations as well.

“If they want to cook the dinner, they should at least let you shop for the groceries,” Parcells would go on to say after he left New England as head coach in 1997.

From NJ Advance Media:

Under (Schwartz’s) operation, the Eagles’ defense has ranked 4th, 5th, 15th and, in 2019 thus far, 9th in defensive DVOA, according to Football Outsiders.

Ultimately, though, there was at least one sticking point for any potential Giants-Schwartz marriage — control.

Per the Philadelphia Inquirer, Schwartz told the Giants that he required “personnel authority” if he was going to be their coach.

That is not going to happen, especially as long as Dave Gettleman is in the house. The Giants have maintained the traditional GM/coach organizational structure they’ve been using since Young was hired to straighten out the franchise in 1979.

Shurmur was chosen as the coach because he does not have as much of a desire to dabble in the scouting and personnel end of the business, although he claims he is a part of many of the decisions.

Shurmur has been doing a lot of the legwork for Gettleman, who has had health issues. Shurmur has been very visible at rookie pro days and other workouts and has been joined by a consortium of Giants’ scouts as well as Chris Mara, senior vice president of player personnel.

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Giants open as 6.5-point road underdogs vs. Bears

The New York Giants have opened as 6.5-point road underdogs against the Chicago Bears in Week 12.

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The New York Giants (2-8) and Chicago Bears (4-6) will be attempting to make runs to salvage their seasons beginning this Sunday at Soldier Field in Chicago.

The Giants are coming off their bye week, while the Bears are reeling from a frustrating 17-7 road loss on Sunday Night Football at the hands of the Los Angeles Rams.

Our friends over at BetMGM have made the Bears an early 6.5-point favorite over the Giants, who have lost six straight. The over/under opened at 41.5.

Both clubs are only 3-7 against the spread this season, so this one should be interesting. The Bears’ loss to the Rams was also marred by another uneven performance from quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, who left the game after suffering a hip injury in the fourth quarter.

Trubisky and the Bears’ front office are under fire for not only their losing record, but the fact that the Bears may have made a huge miscalculation by drafting him.

In the 2017 NFL Draft, the Bears moved up one spot with San Francisco — from No. 3 to No. 2 overall — surrendering their first-, third- and fourth-round selections (3rd, 67th, and 111th) in that draft as well as a third-round selection in 2018 to land Trubisky, who is being labeled by many as a bust.

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Ex-NFL exec Jeff Diamond offers pessimistic take on Giants’ future

Retired NFL executive Jeff Diamond believes Dave Gettleman can turn things around for the New York Giants, but it may take some time.

The New York Giants entered 2019 pushing the narrative that they would be able to compete while rebuilding, which essentially blew up in their faces after just two weeks.

It was immediately clear that New York had a plethora of problems, including a lack of depth at several key positions leading to the over-use of rookies and all of the problems that come along with that.

Coming up on Week 12, the Giants are 2-8 and in the running for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, which speaks volumes about just how far off they are from being legitimate Super Bowl contenders. But perhaps they can make a playoff push in 2020?

Not so fast, says former NFL Executive of the Year, Jeff Diamond.

“I think it’s too soon to make that statement. I think that they’ve added some pieces, but there’s a lot of work to do. It will help them to have that cap cleaned out a little bit,” Diamond told Big Blue View. “They’ll have an opportunity to kind of re-fortify. Not that free agency is a cure all; it’s not. I still believe that you build through the draft primarily and you augment through free agency.

“They’ll have opportunities to add some quality free agents and hopefully they’ll turn out better than they did the last time. . . We’ll see. It’s going to be incumbent on Dave Gettleman if he survives this he’s going to have to make better free agent calls.”

Diamond does believe Gettleman benefits the Giants with his knowledge of personnel and history of winning, but eventually some of that has to show up in New York or his resume will no longer keep him afloat.

“I do believe Dave Gettleman knows personnel, he knows the business, he’s built winners before,” Diamond added. “We’ll see how it shakes out.

“I think the next draft and the next free agent class [are] really important for this Giants team to take a step forward.”

Make no mistake about it, Diamond believes the Giants can turn things around, but he doesn’t see it happened in a one-year span. Rather, he’s looking at least a couple seasons down the line and assuming that if all goes according to plan, the Giants will reemerge as competitors.

Unfortunately for Giants fans, that may mean another down year or two.

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Giants remain one step ahead of Redskins in NFC East

The New York Giants remain one step ahead of the Washington Redskins for a basement spot in the NFC East.

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The New York Giants managed to avoid losing on Sunday for the first time since defeating the Washington Redskins on September 29. Of course, the Giants were enjoying a bye week, so that’s not exactly saying much.

Big Blue is back at it on Monday, returning to East Rutherford ahead of a Week 12 game against the Chicago Bears before back-to-back games against the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles.

With the other three NFC East teams playing on Sunday afternoon, here’s a look at how the division sits after 11 weeks:


Dallas Cowboys (6-4)

It took everything Dallas had, including a huge game from quarterback Dak Prescott, but they were just able to edge out the Lions in Detroit, giving them six wins on the season and complete control of the NFC East. However, those good feelings could fade in short order as the Cowboys now have back-to-back games against the New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills on tap.


Philadelphia Eagles (5-5)

The Eagles gave it a valiant effort and clearly caught Tom Brady & Co. off guard on Sunday, but New England ultimately prevailed, sending Philadelphia back to .500 on the year. Things get no easier for Philly in Week 12 with the Seattle Seahawks up next. However, it’s much more smooth sailing after that with the Dolphins, Giants (twice) and Redskins making up four of the Eagles’ final five games.


New York Giants (2-8)

The Giants have essentially been left to contend with the Redskins as the worst team in the NFC East and entering Week 12, they have a one-game lead. Of course, the thought of Big Blue’s offensive line going up against Khalil Mack and the Bears defense is a scary one. On the plus side, it looks like the secondary will get a slight break against Chase Daniel, which likely means just a modest 250-yard, 2-touchdown performance for Chicago’s signal caller.


Washington Redskins (1-9)

As bad as things are in New York, they might actually be worse in Washington. With a 34-17 loss to the New York Jets on Sunday, the Skins fell to 1-9 on the season with that one win coming against the Miami Dolphins, who went for a two-point conversion with no time remaining on the clock instead of kicking a PAT and sending the game into overtime. Washington’s latest loss was highlighted by rookie QB Dwayne Haskins pleading with his offensive line to protect him.

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Do Giants have one of NFL’s top young cores?

Things look bad for the New York Giants right now, but do they actually have one of the NFL’s best young cores?

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The New York Giants are mired in another losing season and fans are beginning to groan that things are never going to change, but when stepping back and looking at their roster objectively, is there enough young talent to warrant some long-term optimism?

Chris Roling of Bleacher Report certainly thinks so. In fact, he believe the Giants have one of the top young cores in the NFL, just edging out the New York Jets.

9. New York Giants

Key Young Core Players: Saquon Barkley, Daniel Jones, Dexter Lawrence

It is hard not to like a core that has a player with the rushing prowess of Saquon Barkley.

The 2018 Offensive Rookie of the Year bullied his way to 1,300-plus yards on the ground and 11 touchdowns last year for a bad New York Giants team. While the 22-year-old running back had one particularly awful showing in Week 10 this season (13 carries for one yard), he would still be on pace for nearly a 1,000-yard campaign if he weren’t missing time with a shoulder injury.

Barkley is a nice support for rookie Daniel Jones, who was hindered by a coaching staff unwilling to move on from Eli Manning. The 22-year-old quarterback has shown big upside while completing 63 percent of his passes with 15 touchdowns and eight interceptions despite taking 32 sacks.

Dexter Lawrence, a first-round pick this year, has quietly been a force. The 22-year-old defensive tackle is the highest-graded player on the Giants because of his run defense (sixth at his position), according to Pro Football Focus.

And there are also guys like tight end Evan Engram (25) and guard Will Hernandez (24), not to mention a young wideout not part of the 25-and-under core in Sterling Shepard.

Roling makes his case without even mentioning breakout wide receiver Darius Slayton, talented linebacker Ryan Connelly and a few other 25-and-under stars like Jabrill Peppers, Dalvin Tomlinson, B.J. Hill and Leonard Williams.

The reality is, the Giants are stocked with young front-end talent, but are struggling due to their inexperience and lack of depth behind them. Time will provide a wealth of knowledge for most, but the Giants still have a lot of roster building to do — this young talent needs some veteran experience and leadership around them. Certainly more than the team has right now.

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Giants’ brass content on leaving fans confused and in the dark

The New York Giants are mired in another embarrassing season and seem to have no qualms about leaving fans in the dark.

Usually during the bye week, we hear from either the owner or the general manager of the New York Giants. This week, we have heard nothing from CEO John Mara or his football czar, Dave Gettleman.

Some say it’s no big deal but others — present company included — believe there is a depression of sorts seeping into the team’s mentality. They are in the middle of their sixth losing season in seven years and there is no light at the end of the tunnel.

They are a poorly coached team devoid of talent at key positions and have been playing this season with more rookies and inexperienced players than the handbook on “how to run a franchise” recommends.

The least the fans deserve is to have management come out and speak to them. They are already being asked to sit through this miserable season, so it would go a long way for Mara or Gettleman to come out of hiding and reassure the faithful that they are going down the right path.

Gettleman has never held a presser at the bye. Not here or in Carolina. It’s not the way he does things. But the Giants always did. Gettleman’s predecessors, Jerry Reese, Ernie Accorsi and George Young always took time out to give a ‘state of the team” update.

From George Willis of the New York Post:

We should have heard from Dave Gettleman this week. We should have heard from the leader of this storied NFL franchise about what he thinks about a 2-8 record and a six-game losing streak. We should hear from Gettleman what has gone wrong and what, if anything, he thinks is going right.

Instead we have heard nothing. Nothing from Gettleman. Nothing from co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch. Nothing from any decision makers other than Shurmur, the embattled head coach, who is left on his own to fend off the critics.

At 2-8 and the direction of the franchise in question, Gettleman needs to break tradition and answer some questions. The team he is “rebuilding” is an abject failure and his hand-picked head coach is floundering.

Gettleman has been right about a few things. He can hang his hat on his draft classes and signings such as wide receiver Golden Tate. He can crow about cutting ties with Odell Beckham Jr. and Landon Collins, two stars who have basically vanished from the NFL landscape.

We would like to know management’s thoughts on the coaching staff, Daniel Jones’ progress, Saquon Barkley’s injury, the mindset behind the Leonard Williams’ trade, DeAndre Baker’s struggles and much more.

But we’re not getting that. Instead, we get a angry John Mara blowing by reporters in the hallway too miffed to stop to make a statement. We get Gettleman avoiding the media because Mike Francesa called the Giants a “clown show” back in the spring. Shurmur is left to diplomatically dance around the key questions with either guarded speech or complete refusal to divulge any information.

This is not the Giant way. But then again, neither are back-to-back-to-back double-digit loss seasons. No one likes to admit their plan is failing, that they made mistakes and might have to start over.

That is the mindset in the media and throughout the fan base. The fear is that Gettleman messed this thing up and his three-year plan could now be a six-year one.

This is New York, though. Nothing happens in a vacuum here. If they want to keep the fans in the dark, they’re going to find themselves in the same situation as the Los Angeles Chargers — playing their home games in front of a crowd dominated by the visiting team’s fans.

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Giants not listed among teams who attended Kaepernick’s workout following venue change

The New York Giants were not listed among the eight teams that attended Colin Kaepernick’s Saturday workout after a sudden venue change.

The New York Giants were scheduled to be among the 25 teams in attendance for Colin Kaepernick’s Saturday workout in Atlanta, but after Kap’s team had a strange back-and-forth with the NFL and abruptly changed the venue, Big Blue was left behind.

Kaepernick’s agent, Jeff Nalley, informed ESPN that just eight teams made the one-hour trek to the new venue, arriving just as the workout, which was live-streamed on YouTube, got underway. The Giants were not among the teams reported to have moved with the location.

The change in venue interrupted schedules for many of the 25 teams that were scheduled to watch Kaepernick at the original site, but Kaepernick still threw in front of representatives from eight teams, according to Nalley, among them the Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs, New York Jets, Washington Redskins, San Francisco 49ers, Detroit Lions, and Tennessee Titans.

On the field, Kaepernick displayed an impressively strong arm, which was clear enough for anyone watching on to see. However, Kap also displayed some rust and accuracy issues, and appeared to gas out a bit toward the end of his workout.

All told, Kaepernick put on enough of an impressive performance to warrant some interest as a backup quarterback, which is a job he’s been reluctant to accept in the recent past. Whether or not that changes after Saturday’s workout may determine if he returns to the NFL or remains unemployed by the league.

Whatever the outcome may be, it does not appear as if the Giants will take a flier, kick the tires or otherwise consider signing Kaepernick. They have their wagon hitched to Daniel Jones and are roaring full-steam ahead.

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Ex-Giant Odell Beckham Jr. feels targeted by NFL over drug testing

Former New York Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr. feels like he’s a target of the NFL’s random drug testing policy.

A year ago, Carolina Panthers safety Eric Reid suggested that the NFL’s random drug testing policy wasn’t necessarily random at all, implying he was a target of the league.

Fast forward to this week and former New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who now plays for the Cleveland Browns, is echoing Reid’s sentiments.

“[The NFL] made me come in Monday when we had an off day. Had a drug test,” Beckham said, via Cleveland.com. “Made me come in Thursday after the game. Had another drug test.

“Nobody is getting tested like me. I know people who didn’t get tested for five months in the offseason and I’m getting tested every time.”

By the very nature of the system being randomized, some players will get tested more than others. Some will be tested repeatedly and others will never have to fill a cup to the yellow line — that’s just how a randomizer works.

Still, Beckham has felt like a target of the NFL for years and it has to do with a lot more than random performance-enhancing drugs checks — a test Beckham has never failed, by the way.

But the league maintains it has no control over the random names that are chosen for tests.

“Neither the union or the league are involved in the random selection of players to be tested,” league spokesman Brian McCarthy told Cleveland.com. “By means of a computer program, the independent administrator determines which 10 players will be randomly selected each week.”

An independent investigation into Reid’s claim revealed no wrongdoing, and Beckham is free to request a similar inquiry.

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6 Giants teams among NFL’s 100 Greatest of All-Time

Six New York Giants teams have been named among the NFL’s 100 Greatest Teams of All-Time.

As part of their 100th Anniversary celebration, the NFL has been reliving their greatest moments and honoring their greatest players and teams. This week, they completed their list of the 100 Greatest Teams.

The New York Giants placed six teams on the list.

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

No. 93 – 2011 New York Giants

“We didn’t mind winning ugly, the tougher the circumstances, the better we were going to be.” – Eli Manning

NFL.com: “The 2011 New York Giants are the only team in NFL history to win a Super Bowl following a 9-7 regular season. QB Eli Manning had a career-high 4,933 pass yards, but the Giants ranked 25th in scoring defense and nearly missed the playoffs. At 7-7 entering Week 16, a 99-yard touchdown pass from Eli Manning to Victor Cruz became the catalyst to a 29-14 win over the Jets. The Giants beat the Cowboys in Week 17. Then in the playoffs, the Giants crushed the Falcons, 24-2, in the NFC Wild Card Game, and won in Green Bay. 37-20 in the NFC Divisional Round. After beating the 49ers in overtime to capture the NFC Championship, the Giants beat the Tom Brady and Bill Belichick-led Patriots. 21-17. in Super Bowl XLVI. Eli Manning led a game-winning drive which included a memorable throw-and-catch to Mario Manningham. Ahmad Bradshaw scored on a 6-yard rushing TD in the final minute, and Manning was named Super Bowl MVP”.

Fennelly: Certainly a more subdued feeling to this team than the one that won four seasons earlier, perhaps because the Super Bowl was won on a touchdown that they weren’t trying to score. When you go back and review this season however, the Giants were actually a pretty resilient team. The NFC Championship Game in San Francisco was one of the great games of this era — a physical , knock-down, drag-out affair in which Manning himself displayed exceptional grit. If you have any doubt about Eli’s Hall of Fame worthiness, I urge you to re-watch that game.

Lions waive ex-Giants RB Paul Perkins

The Detroit Lions have waived former New York Giants running back Paul Perkins.

Paul Perkins’ strange 2019 continued on Saturday with news that he had been waived by the Detroit Lions — something that has happened several times since his arrival in the Motor City.

The Lions claimed Perkins off of waivers from the Giants in early September and he’s bounced around from their practice squad to their active roster ever since.

Perkins, who was a fifth-round draft pick of the Giants out of UCLA back in 2016, fell out of favor with the team’s coaching staff after missing the 2018 season with a torn pec.

In 26 career games (5 starts) with the Giants, Perkins gained 546 yards on 153 carries (3.6 ypc), while hauling in 23 receptions for an additional 208 yards. His best season came in 2016 when he gained over 618 yards from scrimmage.

In four games with the Lions this season, Perkins gained 29 yards on 12 carries and added nine yards on a single reception out of the backfield.

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